Sunday, July 10, 2011

I love being in the kitchen, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying quick meals too – they have been a great idea in these cold days, when all I want is to be wrapped in a blanked, reading or watching TV.

After watching several episodes of the wonderful “Jamie’s 30-minute meals” I ended up buying the book - which is absolutely beautiful - and the first recipe I tried was this pasta dish: broccolini is in season and the hubby loves it. It instantly became one of his favorites – and heaven knows how rarely that happens. :)

Slice all the broccolini florets from the stalks and set the florets aside. Place the stalks, the onion, the garlic and the capers in a food processor and process until a rough paste forms.
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and add the broccolini paste. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add ¼ cup (60ml) hot water, season with salt, pepper, the lemon zest and the thyme leaves and stir.
Meanwhile, cook the rigatoni in a large saucepan of rapidly boiling salted water until al dente, adding the broccolini florets to the water in the last minutes of the cooking time.
Drain the pasta and broccolini florets reserving about ½ cup (120ml) of the cooking water. Transfer the pasta and broccolini to the pan with the paste, add the parmesan and basil leaves and mix to combine everything together. If necessary, add a little of the reserved cooking water to loosen the pasta sauce.
Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with more parmesan and serve at once.

I have all the ingredients in the kitchen and can't wait to give this a try this week. I love quick and easy (and healthy) recipes too! We must've both been channeling savory thoughts this week as I too posted something non-sweet for a change! ;-)